Chapter Ninety-Three: Sanctuary

"Shepard, I'm picking up a signal from the base. It's weak, but I'll try to boost it," Cortez said.

Colt walked to the shuttle's cockpit. A moment later, a familiar voice started to play. "This is Oriana Lawson. Do not land on Sanctuary. It's not what it seems. Please, listen to me. It's a nightmare down here. They're-." The recording fizzled out, overcome by what had to be a signal blocker.

"Oriana?" Ashley asked.

"If Oriana's here, that means Miranda is as well," Colt guessed. "What the hell do they want with Sanctuary?"

"Approaching the LZ," Cortez said.

Grunt and Ashley shrugged as they pulled on their helmets and un-holstered their guns.

"This mission just got more complicated," Shepard said while adjusting his own helmet. "We knew Cerberus was, or is, running this facility. But Oriana and Miranda? Let's be ready for anything."

"I'm seeing some damage, Commander," Cortez said, "A lot of it actually. But I'm not seeing any activity." The shuttle started its vertical descent before the door opened and Colt jumped onto Sanctuary's surface. A quick glance around confirmed Cortez's observations. The LZ was torn to shit but completely empty.

"Must've been a hell of a gun battle," Ashley said.

"Ya, but who was fighting?" Colt said. "Spread out and look for clues. We need to know exactly what this base was used for." He started to sift around some damaged wall paneling, hoping to find evidence of what weapons were used.

"Got something!" Grunt yelled. Shepard jogged towards the krogan. He stepped aside from a console, allowing Colt to access it. The only available file started to play almost immediately.

"This is Miranda Lawson. Turn back now. This is a Cerberus base, and they've-." The recording fizzled out much the same way that Oriana's had.

"Alright, our first priority is to shut down this signal blocker. Our own comms will probably be going offline pretty soon, so we'll want to re-establish those as soon as possible. Video will go out as well. If that happens, switch to the lost comms protocol."

"Understood," Adams said through the helmet comm. As XO, he was in charge of protocols in Shepard's absence.

"Let's keep going," Shepard ordered. "And spread out." The team moved forward quickly, scanning for any clues that could reveal the full extent of Sanctuary's purpose.

Colt was examining a data-pad when a Cerberus shuttle streaked across the base's obliterated top and crashed into a wall. "Cover!" He yelled, before scrambling behind an overturned desk. He peeked out from behind the desk in hopes of glimpsing what the shuttle was running from. After a few minutes of nothing, he decided to go check it out.

"Hold your positions. I'm gonna see about this shuttle. Cover me," Shepard ordered. He crept from cover and jogged towards the shuttle. Once he reached its position, he activated his Integrated Weapons and Tracking System. He walked around the shuttle with his gun raised, but his sensors weren't picking up any movement. He scanned where the shuttle came from, but his tracking system didn't pick up any movement from that direction either. "Go ahead and come to my position. I didn't pick up any threats."

He watched Ashley and Grunt make their way to the shuttle. He waited for them to take up positions around the shuttle before opening its door.

A person was lying face down in the main personnel area. The other seats were completely empty. Colt then entered the cockpit area, only to discover two more bodies. They were slumped against the shuttle's control panels. He quickly checked their pulses, but they were gone. "All clear. All the occupants are dead. Williams, do a quick search of the shuttle. Grunt, you keep watch."

The two responded in the affirmative. Colt turned back to the two pilots and pulled one into a sitting position. It was immediately clear that she'd been blinded by someone. Her eyes were clawed from their sockets and the area around her eyes had been stripped of flesh. He turned towards the co-pilot and pulled him upright. His fate matched that of his companion.

Colt pulled their lifeless arms upwards in order to confirm his suspicions. Blood covered their hands and flesh was clearly lodged under their fingernails. They'd done this to themselves.

"Jesus. Who did this?" Ashley asked from behind him.

He held up the first pilot's hand and said, "It was self-inflicted."

"God damn. But why?"

"I wish I knew. What about the other body?"

"It's a few days old and somewhat hard to tell how he died. I'd guess blunt force trauma to the head. It's pretty bashed in. Besides that, it's a dead end. No ID. No forms of communication. His omni-tool was cut out of his forearm."

"Same with these guys. There's not much to go off. Let's keep going," he said, "No use in staying." Colt brushed past Ashley and left the shuttle.

"Anything?" Grunt asked.

"No. They scratched their own eyes out, but I don't know anything beyond that. We should keep going."

"Actually, I found something," Grunt said. He pointed towards some nearby rubble. A downed Harvester was visible amongst the other debris.

"I guess it's about time Cerberus and the Reapers started killing each other," Shepard said. "Too bad it only started once Cerberus isn't a problem anymore."

"If the Reapers are here, it means Cerberus was doing something that threatened them," Ashley said, "Why else would they send troops? It's strategically insignificant. If it was just refugees, they'd wait until the galaxy was mostly eliminated to move in."

"I agree," Colt said, "We should be prepared for anything. Let's keep going." He made his way down from the shuttle crash and approached the next set of doors. Once Grunt and Ashley were in place, he started to bypass the door's security until it unlocked. He stepped through quickly while raising his gun but there were no Reapers or Cerberus troopers to speak of.

"I'm tired of all these Cerberus bases having nothing to fight," Grunt said.

"Judging by the damage to this place, the fighting has come and gone," Ashley replied.

They were obviously in the main processing center for the refugees. Fencing was put up to form lines leading to a desk and kiosks. A voice was repeating the same greeting and instructions every couple of minutes. Signs for Registration and Housing Assignments were knocked over but visible. Little fires raged mostly along the walls. The fact they weren't being dealt with was a red flag. Any space station had to be incredibly cognizant of fire danger.

"Found some security footage," Ashley called out. "...There were a lot of people here."

"Ya, I believe it," Colt said, taking in the enormous size of the processing center.

"All those ships we saw coming in had to be packed. And now there's no one? Where are all the people?"

"I'd hate to say," Colt answered. "It's not looking good, though."

"Maybe we'll find someone alive deeper in."

"Maybe."

"Shepard, I got a datapad here," Grunt interrupted. He walked over and handed the datapad over. Luckily, a recording was immediately available.

"Report twenty-one thirty-three. An illegal communication device almost got past security. Scanner software has been adjusted. No way it could penetrate the central scrambler but we can't chance a signal leaving the planet. Report over."

"Hmmm, seems like we need to disable the scrambler so our warning not to come here actually reaches refugees," Colt said, "Let's see if we can find out where its located." He scanned the rest of the area, but nothing important jumped out. He continued down a set of stairs to what appeared to be another processing center. This center was utterly destroyed compared to the one upstairs.

He was nearly down the steps when he saw processing's first bodies. "I'm seeing casualties. From both sides," Colt said, "But they look...different." He kicked a Cerberus trooper onto their back, exposing the cybernetic growths on her face. They'd come across such changes before but never any so extensive. Her neck was much longer than a normal human's and much of the organic tissue was missing on her neck and face. Synthetic patches of flesh replaced what was once organic and her limbs also seemed too long to fit the proportions of her torso.

"Looks kinda like Saren, after he turned," Ashley said from behind him.

"She kinda' does," Colt admitted. He turned from the corpse only to make immediate eye contact with another Cerberus trooper. Her helmet was off, showing her wide eyes and slightly agape mouth. She looked similar to the corpse, but her pointed weapon made it clear she was very much alive. He expected her to instantly start shooting, but she just stood and stared. For whatever reason, Colt also felt compelled to stay still and not open fire.

"Shepard?" She whispered.

He nodded, but remained silent.

"We didn't know. We just didn't know," she pleaded, "Please forgive u-"

Her neck snapped back as her head exploded. She crumpled to the ground and a pool of clear liquid started to drip down some nearby steps. Ashley trotted up to the body, her gun still raised. She kicked the trooper before saying, "Cerberus scum."

Colt looked at the body then back at Ashley. He probably wasn't that genetically different from these Cerberus troops. A little sloughing off of the skin and he'd fit right in.

"Right, well, keep looking around," he said. He turned and walked over to a console that caught his eye earlier. A message was already queued up, so he activated it.

"This is Miranda Lawson," the recording started, "If you've managed to get this far, you must be desperate or stupid."

"Or both," Colt muttered.

"Listen to me, this is not a refugee camp. This is a Cerberus testing facility. It's run by my father, Henry Lawson. They've been conducting genetic testing, mostly trying to incorporate Reaper tech into organics. What they've created is...horrifying. Turn back before you run into them. There is no help waiting for you. All communication is being blocked from the central tower. Sanctuary is a lie. Stay away."

"Okay, so we've got Cerberus, the Reapers, and Miranda's bat-shit crazy dad," Shepard said, "Anyone have any idea how this is at all connected. Cerberus and the Reapers I get, but fuckin' Henry Lawson?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the sounds of whatever Cerberus managed to create," Ashley said, "If Miranda's worried about it, it's nothing to ignore."

"She can hold her own," Grunt added.

"Well, let's hope we can get to that communication tower without running into anything too nasty. We just need to get signals out so people stop coming here. Anything else is secondary priority. With any luck, we'll miss whatever got Miranda so disturbed."

"Yes, because luck is definitely our strong suit," Ashley said.

"Good point. We should probably heed Miranda's warning. Once we disable the jammer, I'll call our reinforcements in. Meanwhile, keep looking for intel."

"Like that panel?" Grunt gestured to a control panel in the next room over.

"Like that panel." Shepard jogged over to it and started to override its security features through his omni-tool. A few minutes later, the controls flashed green and the scenic pond in front of them started to drain.

"What in the hell?" Ashley said.

"Seems like they had something to hide," Colt said, "Come on!" He climbed down the nearby ladder first before covering the other two.

Four enormous vaults took up most of the space in the newly uncovered room. By the looks of it, they were still operational. Another door lay at the far side with its control panel set on green.

As much as Shepard wanted to take his time exploring the area and try to recover as much intel as possible, there was an undeniable need to reach the comm jammer quickly. Ashley was right. If Miranda thought something was a threat, it definitely was. Reinforcements were the smart way to go.

"Alright, guys. Let's get to the comm tower as fast as we can," he said, "Everything else can be on the backburner for now."

"Roger that."

He moved steadily towards the next door with his gun raised. He pushed the button and raced into the room. Consoles dotted the walls, but there was nobody inside. He jogged to the next door and entered the adjacent room. This room was several times larger than the previous and contained a variety of work stations.

"Looks like a command center," Ashley said.

"I think you're right. Look around for anything that might lead us to the comms tower."

Just as soon as he said it, red lights started to light the room up. The same announcer voice from earlier said, "Attention. Quarantine protocols activated. Please await further instructions."

"What the fuck?" He turned rapidly to get a visual of both Grunt and Ashley. They were both running for the door they came through, but the lock was red.

"It's locked!" Ashley yelled.

"Did you try the ot-" The screech of metal to his right interrupted Shepard. He turned on his heel, ready to shoot. A massive creature loomed over him, hand raised. "Oh fuck," was all he could get out before the creature sent him flying backward.

…

Ashley got a few shots off before the creature leaped out the window after Shepard. Just seconds earlier, and with inhuman speed, it had smacked the Commander backward through glass and out the window.

"Go! Go! Go!" She yelled, sprinting towards the window. She reached it just in time to see Shepard running down a vast corridor with the creature closely pursuing. She fired at it once more, but they both disappeared into another room before much damage could be dealt.

"We can't go after them. If it's keeping up with Shepard, it'll chase us down no problem."

"We need reinforcements," Grunt said.

"Our comms only worked when we first arrived, so we need to go back."

"Agreed," Grunt replied.

"Quarantine lifted," the automated voice said.

"Come on, let's go!" Ashley yelled while already running for the door they'd previously come through. She sprinted back through the entrance to the hidden labs, through the processing centers, and back through the wreckage they'd encountered earlier. Grunt was close behind and was breathing heavily by the time they stopped.

"Normandy, can you read me? Normandy? We need reinforcements, ASAP!" Ashley called through the comms. Hopefully the jamming wouldn't block the signal.

"Williams, we read you. What's going on?"

"Grunt and I were separated from Shepard by some sort of beast. No way we can handle it on our own. We need reinforcements," she repeated.

"We'll send down a team as soon as we can. Hold tight. Adams out."

…

Colt took his helmet off, feeling like he couldn't quite catch his breath. He bent over, hands on his knees, and focused on breathing evenly. His hearts were still thundering in his chest from the surprisingly long chase he'd just endured. The creature never caught up to him but it pursued him until he found this particular room to escape into.

"Shepard?" A voice called, making him jump a bit.

He straightened out and looked to the source. "Miranda?" The two stared in amazement at each other before he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"My father runs Sanctuary. I'm here to kill him and get the word out about this God-forsaken station. I knew something was wrong here and as soon as I learned my father was involved, I came here as fast as I could."

"My reasons are pretty similar, actually. We invaded Cronos, took down the Illusive Man. There, we learned what Sanctuary is really for."

"Okay, good. So you know they were trying to control the Reapers?" Miranda said.

"Wait, what?"

"So you don't know then?"

"Apparently not," Colt replied.

"And you don't know what they were doing with you?"

"With me?" Colt said, "I wasn't here. Hell, I just got here. What are you talking about?"

"At first they figured out how to control them on a small scale. Small transmitters could be fitted around a testing area and could influence ground troops, even get them to stop attacking. Then they got more ambitious. How to stop bigger Reapers. How to give individuals the power to control."

"But what does this have to do with me?"

She raised her hand, as if to silence him. "They quickly learned that no person can control them. No asari, no turian, no salarian, no human. They even tried neural connections with Hanar. Nothing worked. So they turned to the next best thing, someone they knew wasn't entirely human. Someone who has interfaced with Protheans and Reapers before. Sound familiar?"

"How could they do tests without me here?"

"They cloned you, Colt. Took the information they had from Project Lazarus and built clones from there. Built a new one every time one fried or was killed."

"Goddamn clones," he growled. "And what about the refugees? There should be thousands of people here."

"Hold on," Miranda said while typing at her omni-tool. Moments later a screen came to life and started playing video. It showed a human woman trapped in a tube, banging on the glass walls. Liquid was injected into the pod, making her claw against the tube all while screaming in agony. A few seconds went by before she went limp and crumpled against the glass. She started to turn unnaturally blue. The recording sped up until a Reaper husk was all that remained of the woman.

"They turned them into husks?" Colt asked.

"Well, some. Then they tried branching out and creating their own creatures. It's not entirely clear why. I think they believed they could make an army to fight back against the Reapers, but indoctrination soon twisted their ambitions for the project. In the end, the creatures either broke loose or were released and killed everyone in the facility."

"How do you know all this?"

"I've been here for days, Shepard. Figuring it out, piecing it together. I've almost caught my dad three times but he knows this facility better than I do. I'm closing in on him again. I've pushed him back into the comms tower and I'm heading there now," Miranda said. "Let's end this."

"Ashley and Grunt are still out there."

"Do you want to go back out there and help them? They'll be okay on their own. Come on."

Colt stood still, wondering how he could loop back to the beginning to find Ashley and Grunt. Leaving them to fend for themselves felt like a remarkably bad idea.

"Look, once we get the comms back on it will be easier to find them and coordinate reinforcements," Miranda said, "Staying here and being sitting targets helps no one."

"I guess you're right. Lead the way."

"I locked down much of the station, which is why the entrance was clear," Miranda added, "We won't get so lucky the further we go."

"I've learned by now not to count on luck."

"Good thing. Though I have been able to map the best, least dangerous path, we hopefully we won't be in the shit for too long," Miranda said while opening the next door. As soon as she did so, a flurry of husks rushed the pair.

Colt set off a Nova quickly followed closely by a warp thrown by Miranda. Both attacks finished the husks off before they got the chance to deal any damage.

"That wasn't too bad," Colt observed.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Hmmm," Shepard hummed as he started to flip through status reports on a discarded datapad. After a while he asked, "So what else have you learned about this place, specifically how I was involved?"

"Despite wanting to believe otherwise, you are a good candidate for these trials. No one else in the galaxy has the Reaper tech placed in their bodies and brain like you do. As far as I can tell, the clones interfaced well with small-scale control beacons. The stuff that controls their ground troops. It got trickier the more ambitious they got. I don't think they ever achieved the same success on actual Reapers."

"The problem they kept running into was that their test subjects would become indoctrinated long before they could control ground troops. It seems that your inability to be indoctrinated was integral."

"And they were able to replicate that in the clones?" He asked.

"To some degree, I'd say yes. How else could they have achieved any success?"

"And are there any clones left?"

"I don't think so," she answered, "At least, I haven't met any...You seem surprisingly calm about all this."

"I cannot be phased these days. Clones made to control the Reapers? Another day in the apocalypse. Cerberus made monsters beyond our wildest nightmares? Kinda predictable. You know?"

"Sadly, I do."

"So, how far to the comm tower?" He asked.

"Not far. You made it the majority of the way here all by yourself."

"Well, to be fair, I was chased for most of it."

"Still counts. Ready for the next room?"

"Right behind you," he said while bringing his weapon to his shoulder.

She opened the door with her omni-tool to reveal a darkened room. The same red light from the earlier flashed ominously but it was dead silent.

Colt took a careful step forward before activating his Integrated Weapons and Tracking System. Immediately, a partial infra-red reading stood out in the seemingly abandoned room. He pointed towards it and Miranda nodded. Colt crept closer until he realized that a shipping container was partially concealing whatever it was. He walked to the back of the container, hoping to catch the creature off guard.

He stuck close to the container's wall before peeking out behind the corner. The creature was facing him but was far too busy helping itself to a Cerberus trooper to notice Shepard. It was definitely humanoid but unlike anything Colt had ever experienced. Its elongated neck was attached to a perfectly proportioned human torso. Its arms were far too long, as were its legs. The tell-tale sign of Reaper interference, blackened veins, ran through its face and hands. Unlike most of the Reaperified creatures Shepard had seen, this one was dressed in a shirt and jeans rather than armor. They were comically too small for the thing, but there was something undeniable stomach-turning about civvies on it. Like it was a fully functional human not long ago.

The creature's bottom jaw was probably broken at some point but it was ripping strips of thigh off the trooper no problem. Its claw-like fingers were equally adept at carving flesh. Blood and bits of human stuck to its face as scarfed down more and more of the trooper.

He should've shot the damn thing in the head and been over with it. But he couldn't help but look. There was something different about this creature that he wasn't quite grasping. It was infuriating. Whatever the difference, it was at the tip of his tongue, like a name that just wouldn't come. Though the Reaper rot ran deep, morphing it into a mindless animal, there was just something more recognizable about this one. Most husks were human-looking enough but shooting them never quite felt like killing another person.

Miranda stepped out confidently from the other side of the container, gun raised. The creature turned its head slightly before Miranda sent a bullet through its chest. It squealed in surprise before toppling over. He waited, ready to shoot it again, but it never rose.

He walked over cautiously and kicked it onto its back. It was clearly dead, prompting Colt to lower his weapon. The flashing red light stopped abruptly before the regular lights came back online.

Miranda walked up next to Shepard, giving him a nod before looking at the creature's body. "I know this is weird to say, but I never noticed that these things have eye colors, you know? I never stopped to look, but uh, I wasn't really expecting green eyes. Thought they'd be black or something."

Colt crouched down closer to get a better look at this thing's eyes. They were a startling green that was far too human. "You're right. They are usually black," he said.

"Come to think of it, it does kind of look familiar, doesn't it?"

"That's what I was thinking," he said. "But we can't linger. I'll take a sample and then let's keep going."

"Agreed."

He scraped some skin and fat off the creature into a little vial he kept specifically for biological samples. Colt then stored it in a pouch on his back before standing. "Alright. Let's go."

He unholstered his Disciple shotgun and approached the next door. Miranda tapped on her omni-tool for a few seconds before the door opened. Immediately, a swarm of husk-like creatures were on them. Colt fired his Disciple several times into the crowd, dispersing them into a smaller group. He quickly followed that up with a Nova that left the rest either dead or disorganized. Miranda finished the rest off with well-placed gunshots.

The two maneuvered past the fallen horde and walked further into the next room. Three identical creatures to the previous room's abomination ambled towards them. Their short backs hunched as their long, thin legs carried them unsteadily. Their jaws were open in a permanent snarl that sent a shiver up Colt's spine.

"Spread out!" He yelled while diving for cover to his right. He saw Miranda go left.

Shepard stood, raising his hand and producing a Reave attack that started draining all three of their shields. Immediately, he fired off a shockwave that knocked two of them down before doing a biotic charge into the last one standing. He hit the third, knocking it down and completely depleting its shields. Colt turned to the other two, ready for a Nova attack. Before he could complete what he hoped would be a killing blow, one latched onto his right arm with its maw and jerked him around. He skittered across the floor on his knees once it released him and only stopped when he collided with the wall.

Shepard jumped to his feet, shotgun raised at the rapidly approaching creature. As soon as it was five feet away, he blasted it twice in quick succession. Confident it was dead, he jumped over its body to confront the two antagonizing Miranda. One had her by the arm and was Colt's first priority. He ran up behind the creature and tackled it from behind. It let go of Miranda as it stumbled across the room. He followed it, shotgun at the ready. Before it could rebalance, he fired at its chest region and killed it.

Shepard turned back to Miranda's position and noted the third creature was dead. It seemed like one of Miranda's biotic attacks put it down. "Well, could've been better, could've been worse," Colt said as he rubbed his still-healing arm. The damage wasn't bad and in a few minutes it would be like that creature had never bitten him. He did another quick scan of the bodies to make sure none were coming back Saren-style. "Ready to go?" He turned to Miranda's last position but he couldn't see her. "Miranda?"

"Shepard." The stammer in her voice made Colt's stomach drop. He walked slowly to where it came from, unsure of what he was to find.

Miranda was propped against a table, hand over a stomach wound that bled profusely. She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh, Miranda," Colt said quietly. He knelt beside her and took out a medical kit. He painstakingly applied medi-gel before running a scan which only confirmed his initial thoughts. "You'll need medical attention quickly, but the medi-gel will hold for now. Do you know how close we are to the control tower? I don't wanna take you through too much unknown territory."

"We're close, we should push forward."

He looked down at her then around at the battle scars around them. Nothing seemed like a good option. Going forward was completely unpredictable and he'd have to fight alone. Staying still allowed troops and creatures to pinpoint their location, and organize tactics. Going back meant running into the thing that chased Colt and possibly other creatures that were attracted to the sounds and smells of fighting.

"I should've brought in more reinforcements. Someone told me to and I didn't listen...So stupid," he muttered. He'd really gotten himself, Miranda, Grunt, and Ashley into a mess. But if Miranda was right, and the comm tower was close, that was their best bet to ending this mission. "Alright, come on," he said. He heaved Miranda onto his shoulders and walked over to the next door.

He easily bypassed the door's security and slowly crept into the next room. His night vision and Integrated Weapons and Tracking System immediately came on in the pitch-black room. There wasn't even red emergency lights or a contamination warning.

Colt found a corner that looked somewhat protected and carried Miranda over there. He placed her carefully on the floor so she was leaning against a shipping container. She unholstered her pistol and nodded. He stepped back from her and started forward into the room.

He moved forward slowly, listening to footsteps ahead and what he thought was whispering. He took a similar route from the previous room and maneuvered around a shipping container for maximum cover. He stepped carefully around its side with his gun ready.

Two creatures that seemed like the same ones from earlier were busily eating a scientist's face. Much of the body was already shredded and only the remnants of the individual's uniform suggested they were once a Cerberus scientist.

A third one was pacing and muttering to itself in what Colt realized was Prothean. "What would they say? What would they?" It mumbled. "I remember his face like it was yesterday. On Ridgefield Road. On Sathur. If only I could remember."

It looked up briefly and Colt's stomach dropped when he got a look at its face. It was his. It was a clone. Twisted, but it was undeniably his clone. "Alex. Alexander. Rowan. Hannah. Who were they? Who were they?" It continued, "On Elysium, I...I did what? The end they said. Sure. I think they're right. But I don't remember. What happened to me?"

He was bloody like the others, mostly around his mouth. No doubt he'd been gorging himself earlier on the scientist. But aside from that, he looked like Colt. Even his grooming perfectly mimicked Colt's. His beard was noticeable but not long, and he had a shaved head with a small scar on his hairline. The others were proportioned incorrectly and their facial features were humanoid but not recognizable as Shepard. Were they clones too? Probably.

"I can't feel anything. Why can't I feel anything? I was left here. I think. I can't quite remember," the clone continued to mutter.

Shepard watched his movements as panic increasingly started to set-in. This is what he would look like, maybe act like, if the Reapers ever got a hold of him. And then the others, would he deteriorate into an unrecognizable humanoid the longer he was indoctrinated? Would he mindlessly help himself to whatever dead thing was in the vicinity? Probably.

He heard shuffling behind him and realized Miranda was heading towards him. She couldn't know these were clones. He took out three grenades, pulled their pins, and then tossed them into the clone group before hiding behind the shipping container. The three hissed before the grenades detonated.

After their explosion, he turned back to the scene. He'd used incendiary grenades intended to stick to opponents and continue burning long after the initial explosion. He was not let down. The three were burned beyond recognition and were continuing to burn.

"Thought something had happened," Miranda said as she got closer.

"No, I was just trying to see what's so weird about these creatures, you know? They just seem more human."

"Did you figure it out?" She asked.

"No. Finally, I just lobbed a few grenades. We can't sit here forever while I try to figure it out," he said, "Come on." He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and steadied her as they walked to the next room. He glanced at the clones' bodies once more before picking Miranda up and moving on.

As they stepped through the door, immediate relief rushed through Colt's body when he realized that they'd reached the comm tower. Thank God. Much longer and who knows what the hell they'd run into. "You doing okay?" He asked Miranda.

"As well as can be expected," she replied. He set her down carefully before looking at the equipment around them.

"I think there must be something wrong with this signal they're sending out for control," Colt said, "When we were heading in, we found some people who clawed their own eyes out. Something really fried their brains."

"I've been here for days and was never affected."

"Only certain people with the right implants may be affected. Which would make sense considering their need to clone and perfect my Reaper implants." Shepard walked to a control panel that he recognized as being comm equipment. "This must be where the signal is coming from. We've gotta shut it down."

Before he could shut the jammer off, a voice behind him said, "Commander Shepard. I've been here for weeks just waiting for you to show up."

Colt turned slowly to the voice, painfully aware of who it was. "Waiting here? I just spoke with you on the Normandy."

A human woman he'd never seen before was approaching. The voice inhabiting her was no doubt Harbinger. "I was on the Normandy. Like I was just on Earth and Menae. I was there as surely as I am here."

Colt stayed silent, waiting for the Reaper to explain himself.

The woman grinned and let her hand glide over some of the equipment. "And you're right," Harbinger said. He transitioned into a language that Colt had never heard before but nevertheless understood. "The signal we're sending out does only affect some individuals with the right implants or brains or coding. Luckily, we got in a few practice rounds before you showed up."

"What do you mean?" Colt asked.

"How long have you been on Sanctuary, Shepard?"

"Around seven hours now, why?"

"We'll see you soon, Commander," he said. With that, the woman collapsed to the ground.

Colt ran over, gun ready at his shoulder. She was pouring blood out of her ears and mouth at an alarming rate. He checked her pulse, but there was none. She'd clearly been brain hemorrhaged.

"Jesus," he muttered.

"Is there anything I can do?" Miranda called.

"No, she's dead."

He stood up from her body and leaned against a nearby table, surveying the scene in front of him. Why was Harbinger here? Clearly, he'd indoctrinated many of the Sanctuary workers, but why show up just to speak with Colt? What was it that he said? That they were able to get a few practice rounds in? What did that...The clones. They were used for something. Practice, but for what?

And then he asked how long Colt had been here? It just didn't make any sense. Why would time matter for the Reapers? The only thing the Alliance had measured in hours when it came to the Reapers was exposure. They always recorded how long someone was in contact with a Reaper or Reaper artifacts due to the possibility of indoctrination. Again, what did-

He started to turn towards Miranda when another voice yelled, "Drop your weapon!" Colt did as he was told, placing his Disciple on the ground. He then turned around only to find Henry Lawson dragging Oriana from behind some cover. How'd Colt miss them?

Henry stared at Colt with an intensity that made his stomach turn. "It was you, you know?" Henry finally said.

"No, I don't know."

"You were the key all along. We needed someone to interface with the Reapers without getting indoctrinated and you're the only one that can do it. You see, the Reapers have safeguards against indoctrination to prevent in-fighting. As far as we can tell, no individual Reaper can take control of any other through these measures. It seems like this trait has been passed to you."

"Okay? So you cracked the code to control a few ground troops in a highly sterilized environment. Forgive me if I don't think you've won us the war."

"It's more than that, Commander," he said sharply while jerking around Oriana. Out of the corner of his eye, Colt could see that Miranda was creeping up behind the pair, no doubt with every intention to kill Henry.

"How so?"

"Why defeat the Reapers when we can use them? Bend them to our will? They're the most powerful force that has ever existed, why eliminate their potential?" Henry paused for a moment but kept going, "You see, we've bypassed their anti-indoctrination safeguard. Reverse engineered it from you and husks. Now Reapers, even full-size ones like Harbinger, can be indoctrinated and turned for our purposes."

"You're the only one that can control the Reapers due to the unique changes made by Project Lazarus," Henry continued, "If our goal of control is to be fully realized, you'll be the only one that can do it. You see, we figured out how to broadcast these new signals throughout the galaxy. And these signals will indoctrinate the Reapers. We have spies within the Alliance and they've told us about the Crucible. According to them, the Crucible utilizes the mass relays to somehow render the Reaper's inoperable. But instead of making them inoperable, this signal will bring them to heel."

"Wait, so you're telling me that Cerberus managed to make an additional component for the Crucible and this component has the ability to control the Reapers?" Colt asked, mind reeling from the new information.

"It's not fully complete and will need additional work, but yes, essentially that's it."

"Holy shit," Colt said. He stared incredulously at Henry, wondering if he knew the extent of what this could mean. Then he thought of his earlier conversation. "Why was Harbinger here?"

"Well that's why the station fell apart," Henry said, looking unsurprised that Colt had spoken to the Reaper, "Indoctrinated people let the experiments loose or did unauthorized testing on them. I knew that-know that. I was trying to avoid them for weeks. The indoctrinated people, I mean. I've been mostly working on my own. There's no else I could trust. Once I knew what they were doing-specifically with indoctrination-I made this for you." He waved a small vial around with the hand holding his gun. "Fact of the matter, we can't lose you. I hope this counteracts anything they were able to-"

"Let Oriana go! Now!" Miranda stood behind the pair, one hand clutching her wound and the other gathering biotic energy.

Henry jerked to the side, clearly surprised by Miranda. "No," he said. "I'm taking her and the research data."

"You know that can't happen," Colt said, "Give me Oriana, the data, and the vial."

"That's asking for a lot."

"You get your life in exchange, how much is that worth?"

Henry looked between Colt and Miranda before nodding to himself. "Okay, deal," he said before shoving Oriana towards Shepard.

A second later, Miranda blasted her father with biotics, sending him flying through the nearby window. If the glass hadn't killed him, the fall most certainly would. "No deal," she growled before slumping onto the floor.

"Miranda!" Oriana yelled and ran over to her sister. She caught the former Cerberus agent and helped her sit more comfortably against a console.

Colt probably should've joined the pair to make sure Miranda was okay, but instead, he walked over to the window and peered down at Henry Lawson's broken body. He felt coldness spread around his stomach at the sight. It felt like one way or another, he'd regret losing Henry Lawson.

He stepped back from the ledge and went over to the sisters. "I'm okay. Better now knowing that he's dead and you're safe." Colt overheard Miranda say as he approached them. "It's finally over, can you believe that? He can't hunt us anymore."

He crouched down to recheck her omni-gel packing, which still held. Jesus, that could've been much worse. "Your omni-gel is holding everything together but Chakwas needs to see you ASAP. I'll see if I can call the Normandy."

Oriana reached out her sister, gently grazing Miranda's face with her fingers. "Just hold on, we'll get you help."

Colt turned from the scene, feeling uncomfortable. He tried not to make a habit out of inserting himself in the middle of highly personal conversations. Especially those between siblings.

"Normandy, can you hear me?"

"Shepard! We read you loud and clear," Joker answered. "An assault team just landed at the original LZ."

"Have them turn back immediately, there's some nasty creatures further on. Miranda and I just barely escaped."

"Understood, telling the assault team now."

The two sisters were talking quietly with each other, and he had every intention to give them all the privacy they needed. Colt leaned against a distant wall, waiting patiently for Joker's next hail. A few minutes passed before the pilot spoke again, "Okay, Cortez just picked them up. Luckily, they weren't far. They're coming for you now so hold tight."

"Understood," Shepard said. He turned his attention back to Miranda and Oriana. A dull aching sensation in his stomach started as he looked at the two. It was his fault that Miranda was wounded. He should've listened to Ryan and accepted more help from the Alliance. Never had he underestimated Cerberus and the Reapers until today, and it was an almost fatal mistake.

"Colt," Miranda called, interrupting his thoughts. He walked over to the sisters until he stood over the crouched pair.

"We won't ever talk about what happened today," Miranda said, "Not a word."

He nodded before saying, "Good." If either of them ever talked and the Reapers were tipped off that they could be controlled… Disaster didn't come close to describing the effects.

Oriana hummed in agreement and then reached for something in her backpack. She stood up and held out a vial of bright blue liquid. "That vial he had?" She said. "This is it."

He reached out to Oriana slowly. He wanted to go faster but there was something paralyzing about the vial. What was it? Henry said he made it to counteract what the Reapers were doing. Which was what? Clearly, the Reapers had not only invaded the station but they'd also been controlling the experiments for some time.

He thought he was out-maneuvering the Reapers by shutting down Sanctuary, but Harbinger's visit seemed to say otherwise. And what was Harbinger saying, exactly? They'd done some testing on the clones, which explained what Shepard saw earlier. But how was that applicable to Colt? Only some people were affected by the signal the Reapers were sending out.

Harbinger said he was waiting for Colt. Why wait specifically for him? Why not ambush anyone who tried to shut-down Sanctuary? Of course, Harbinger could've been waiting for anyone and just so happened to run into Shepard. Still, the way he greeted Colt felt oddly specific. Like he was anticipating Shepard and only Shepard. The Colt clones certainly felt like a targeted response from the Reapers. And the way he mentioned clones as being practice certainly supported the idea that Sanctuary was waiting for Shepard.

What Henry said also made it seem like whatever experiments happened were Shepard-centric. What else did Henry say? Something about indoctrination? The clones being indoctrinated seemed like the most significant finding. And by the looks of them, they hadn't been Reaperified for an extensive period of time. So they were freshly indoctrinated, probably from the same signal that caused the Cerberus troopers to claw their own eyes out. Neither Miranda or Oriana seemed affected by the signal, meaning that it was tailored for specific individuals. Harbinger himself confirmed that. And yet, what did that have to do with Shepard?

Colt unfolded his arms and felt his mouth go dry when he realized what Harbinger was talking about. Someone with the right brains or implants would only be affected, and all Colt's clones had clearly fallen victim to indoctrination. The Reapers had been practicing and perfecting how to indoctrinate Colt and he'd stupidly been inside ground zero of their testing site for seven hours.